Copyright.gov... did you experience it yet?

[ChrisAdval]

Did anyone here experienced by submitting photos to copyright.gov? I just would like to know the whole process from a photographer's perspective.

[BuddhaPi]

It's fairly standard government issued BS, be sure to do your homework first, if you do it wrong, you'll be doing it again...

I personally haven't done any photos as of yet, but am considering a compilation at some point

[NathanFranke]

I did it once several years ago. They've changed the method somewhat since, but it largely looks the same.

There are two choices--unpublished work and published work. You have 90 days from the "date of publication" to list things as "unpublished." For registering unpublished works, it's ~$35 to register a whole batch of images. What i was told in school was to get in a groove, and compile everything every 3 months and get it copyrighted as unpublished.

For published works, you'll have to check the government website.

After you submit everyting, they send you a nice piece of paper saying your stuff is registered.

The only differences I noticed were that online submission is encouraged--it didn't exist when I copyrighted stuff--and that the prices changed.

[andyw]

NO, thank goodness I live in a civilized country where I don't have to "register" to be able to take advantage of the legal system in the event of an infringement.

[NathanFranke]

You can take advantage of the legal system if you're not registered, it's just that you can get a lot more money from the infringer if you're registered.

[funcrunch]

Originally Posted by ChrisAdval

Did anyone here experienced by submitting photos to copyright.gov? I just would like to know the whole process from a photographer's perspective.

The ASMP has an excellent tutorial taking you through the copyright.gov registration process step by step. I've registered the majority of my pro photos online over the last year.

[SierraPhotog]

I've registered a number of images, and once you get the flow down it's relatively easy. As mentioned already, there are a number of good tutorials on the web. Also, Jack Reznicki has recently co-authored a book on copyright and legal issues of concern to photographers; here's an Amazon link: Amazon.com: Photographer's Survival Manual: A Legal Guide for Artists in the Digital Age (Lark Photography Book) (9781600594205): Edward C. Greenberg, Jack Reznicki: Books

SteveB